etcelsior | I PUT THEM TO BED, NOW THEY ARE DREAMS, AND WE GO --

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test drive

I PUT THEM TO BED, NOW THEY ARE DREAMS, AND WE GO --

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. Many of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and their local troubles, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right? That's just the Heropan way.

But despite the relatively small size and mostly easy-going population, this here is not a city immune to the urbane ways of the world. And Heropa, like the rest of the world, adheres to the calendar of this universe. You, fine imPort, have just happened to land squarely on SING LIKE YOU'RE IN A MUSICAL DAY! Wowee! Locals and tourist natives alike will conspire to cajole you into singing your GREATEST WISHES and CLOSING ACT songs. And, oh, you don't feel like singing? Then BEWARE of anyone spritzing a sweet-smelling yellow perfume at you -- that's a lasting vestige from the crumbled HEAVEN SCENT corporation, still on the market, and it will COMPEL YOU TO SING. Even if it's for a few minutes, you'll be singing a few bars. It's nothing personal, the locals just want you to feel like you belong.

Happy Sing Like You're In A Musical Day!

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter than Heropa, there are still large numbers of citizens to be awed at your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Those words have meaning here. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices or recently published PLoS papers. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face. Some of them MAY ask if you personally know the De Chima Ambassador, Sam Merlotte. Beware if you answer in the affirmative; anything from personal questions about romantic chances to bedroom habits to dietary queries might come up!

If you wander the clean streets beneath those chrome and glass skyscrapers, you'll come upon the limited greenery clearing that De Chima possesses. You'll see a live demonstration in the middle of small Newton Park. A live demonstration! Of what, you ask! Of the start-up company DeCRYPTO CANINE! You'll find a fenced little area in the park fitted for a low-rise stage. On that stage are lots of dogs -- terriers, labradors, dachshunds, huskies, even a great dane or two. Around the collar of every one of these dogs is a glowing blue band encapsulated in a silver framing. When the demonstration begins (at the push of a big red button on a remote control), the glowing blue changes to yellow, to green, or to red -- all depending on the dog.

"Communication with our good canine buds!" Says the woman on the stage with the microphone and the remote. "DeCRYPTO CANINE translates blood pressure and adrenaline into mood, and mood into limited speech! At long last!"

Who let the dogs out? This woman, because she opened the fencing floodgates and these dogs ran to greet the waiting audience. Wagging tails -- green! And a computerized voice says "YOU ARE NEW HELLO I SMELL YOUR BUTT NOW WE ARE FRIENDS".

Whimpering, lowered tails -- yellow! Concern! "YOUR CROTCH SMELLS BAD. ARE YOU SICK."

Tense shoulders, hunched posture -- red! "BAD MAN BAD MAN BAD MAN!"

What will these dogs reveal about you?

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale -- but that war waging is taking a turning tide thanks to the order and regulation established by Ambassador Petyr Baelish. Locals know him best for his library and his hardline on containing the criminal element. Trustworthy guy, they'll tell you. But one man's leadership isn't enough to clean up a troubled city in a year's time; everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls.

Case in point: the two cars screeching down the bust, bustling streets of this noir-styled city. A green car and a red car, both sedan styled, dodging and weaving through midday traffic like they had learned to drive at a bumper car rally. Not too far behind is the wail of several police sirens. You know that the police are too far away, that these speeding vehicles might make it to the off-ramp freeway and get home-free -- what do you do about it? Huh, hero? What do you do?

NOTHING
Just go about your business. Crazy day, huh?

CHASE THE GREEN CAR
Going 79 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, that'll be some chase. Careful about the other vehicles, parked cars, pedestrians. But when you catch up to the fleeing vehicle, beware: the lady in the passenger side is armed. The lady in the driver's seat is armed. The guy tied up in the trunk is not armed. These sunglass-wearing bounty hunters will fire at you, they are armed and dangerous. They are mean. They will not humor your shit. And they are hauling tail trying to...

CATCH THE RED CAR
If you pursue the red car first, you will find a very angry Bonnie and Clyde type couple with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds and jewels in their backseat. They have a bazooka.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, has its own unique rhythm; it is loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. To be American is to be part of a melting pot, and that there's more money to be made by the thriving local industries hardly hurts. Natives may gather around new arrivals and ask both personal and broad questions about life as an imPort, what they are looking forward to, what their favorite article of underwear is. They probably already think they know what Ambassador Miles' favorite article of underwear is -- and it's probably a kinky assumption. Whoops!

If you prefer to dodge the unsavory bustle, take a walk downtown into the heartbeat district. There you can find the throbbing nightclubs and dazzling haute bars. And as a newly arrived imPort, you're invited to the VIP lounge of the hautest bar in town: THE TIPPING POINT. It is a very fancy affair, however, so if you're not dressed to the nines, you WILL be taken care of and given a designer suit or cocktail dress to borrow for the evening. All you have to do in return is smile for the cameras! And there WILL be cameras, along with B-List celebrities hobbing at your elbows. Lucky night for you if you're JUST at the legal drinking age, but not quite there -- this lounge doesn't card. So sit down, take your gin and tonic, and smile.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's one of the many things daughter and mother (unknowingly) have in common, the easy charade they can slip into when it comes to a social call where many are gathered.

Leia is gliding through one conversation to the next, listening with one ear while keeping an eye on the faces that surround each time. By the fifth group of socialites, of forced laughter and mock toasts to this or that dress of the evening accompanied by compliments fed off serpant's tongues, she's had enough. So distracted is she by the prospect of seeking out a dark corner for the next few moments or calling on Han or Luke or Poe, the collision comes as a bit of a shock. Thankfully neither spills their drink on their clothing, Leia donning a gown of white with golden embroidery, gems catching in the light, a cape draped back over her shoulders. ]

No, the fault was mine. I'm sorry. I should've paid better attention to where I was going. Are you alright?

Quite all right, I assure you. [ Looking up now that she has finished securing her drink and ensuring that neither of them will suffer any ill effects of her own clumsiness. There's a -- moment, half a breath where she thinks she is seeing herself in a mirror, or perhaps one of her handmaidens, and her gaze turns quizzical before it passes.

Resemblances are hardly uncommon. The sense of familiarity she dismisses as simply a response to that, smiles gently. ]

I see we will simply have to share the blame. Still, in a place this crowded it seems inevitable. It seems a popular destination.

I haven't been here long but I'm beginning to see why.

[ Leia won't pass up discreetly watching a damn nice looking gentleman pass by dressed in a nicely fitted suit. What she won't think about is how his hair is slicked back fashionably and wonder how a certain scoundrel might look with his hair done as such. The glance is done over the rim of her glass and then she looks over with a smile, not at all yet registering what familiarity there might be. ]

I'm Leia.

It does have its interests.

[ Though she means quite different ones than Leia does -- mostly means the possibility of information and connections, since she has none of those here yet. It is a strange feeling, already adrift enough before this sudden transition.

The name catches her attention, familiar still from the few minutes she remembers before arriving here, and her smile turns a little sad for a moment before she settles back into the public persona, holds out a hand. ]

Amidala. [ No longer Senator, though. She hesitates, and then keeps going. ] Padme Amidala.

[ Suddenly good looking men with slicked back hair no longer hold her attention. This woman does. Her fingers squeeze at her glass without her realizing. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Senator Amidala.

[ That's how she knows of her, through her brief talk with Anakin. ]

[ Her hand wavers, settles back at her side instead as she almost frowns in confusion. She doesn't -- she recognizes this woman, but she doesn't, and after years in politics that is not a feeling she comes by frequently. Faces and names are her business and trade, after all. ]

It would seem I no longer hold that title here.

[ She has never had to ask for someone's name before, and it takes a slight internal war of places and differences in circumstance before she adds ]

I'm afraid I don't remember us meeting in the Senate before, my apologies.

[ Seeing Padmé's hand lower makes her realize how rude she'd been in not accepting it to clasp in a proper greeting. If only Breha were there, she'd likely have something to say about it later. ]

You were part of the Senate years before I had joined. Before I was born, I believe. I joined the world of politics at a young age but I do recall your name being spoken among the other Senators from time to time.

[ At least, hopefully, her smile makes up for her impolite moment earlier. ]

[ The explanation makes sense, but it is a strange thing to think that her legacy lives on in the Senate -- that the Senate lives on. It is what she had wanted, what she had asked of Bail to try to achieve, but with everything that had happened she does not know how he accomplished it. ]

It's strange, to think that we can be taken from different times. [ Her smile wavers, saddens. ] Though I am glad to hear the Republic lives on in some form, at least.

It lives on, but it hasn't gotten any better. It's gotten worse, if anything.

[ Probably not something she wants to hear. ]

There's a war going on. A war to restore the Alliance.

[ Leia looks down at her drink, swirling it about. Luke's words come back to her, the reassurance that time doesn't pass on without them, back home. That the war is, in a way, paused until they return. Still seems bizarre, in her mind. ]

[ The look she gives Leia in return is not resigned, a spark of fight still always there, but there's an understanding in the sadness in it. ]

Palpatine sank his claws in deeper than any of us realized.

[ There is a bitterness in that, the edge of steel and flint in her words and eyes.

The second part brings a soft sigh from her though. ]

There is always a war, it seems. [ She had spent almost her entire career trying to bring peace, but sometimes it felt like the entire galaxy was bent so heavily towards conflict that it could never be pulled back. ] Perhaps they should be fighting to simply start over and try something new.

I think they're too far set in their ways to even consider it. For so long, as far back to when my father sat with you on the Senate, it was always the same. Oppression, injustice, crimes left unpunished.

People went unheard.

[ She'd spent so long fighting for those who couldn't, and now Leia had to wonder, in this small, rare moment of doubt and insecurity, if she could ever help them. The less time spent deep in the thick of war, the more time she had to sit helpless to her thoughts and the demons that came with them.

As strong as she was to the cause, there was always room for doubt, for weakness. There would come a time when enough was...enough.

She falls quiet and takes a long sip of her drink. ]

It was a problem we never learned how to fix. [ Though the mention of Leia's father being someone she had served with makes her curious, especially as it seems likely he must have been one of those she served closely with during the end. ] Your father was?

[ The familiarity is still there, tugging at her, but she can't trace the lines of Leia's face to any of her colleagues. She could almost see a resemblance to Mon Mothma, but Leia had said it was her father Padme had served with. ]

We're still unable to. And with there being no more Jedi to aid in fighting back against the Empire... [ In the words of Threepio - We're doomed. ]

Bail. Viceroy Bail Organa. My father and mother, Queen Breha of Alderaan.

[ Someone needed to give her points for keeping a steady voice as she spoke the names. No break in her tone gave anything away, though the same couldn't have been said for the shift in her expression she was unable to hide. Leia could only hope the dimmed lighting of the club helped in that.

She had to clear her throat and murmur an apology, bringing up her drink to finish off, her throat feeling tight with heavy emotion. ]

The Jedi were as lost as we were, in their own way. [ It is hard to tell if she says that with sadness or if there is a touch of bitterness in it. It is all still quite fresh to her.

But the names arrest her attention, bring a sudden and genuine bright smile at first. ] Breha had a daughter? I remember her talking sometimes --

[ It falters, as does her smile, because she remembers Breha speaking of it as a dream she could not attain. Leia. Why would Bail and Breha name their daughter the same name she had given her own? There are pieces sliding into place, and she can't tell if she wants the question growing to be answered, her fingers growing tight around the stem of her glass as her gaze bends more firmly on the woman in front of her. She is -- sad.

When Padme finishes, her voice is very gentle, suddenly almost hesitant. ] They were dear friends of mine, in my time. If you are anything like them, I hope we will be able to get to know each other.

What I know of the Jedi, I know only through study. Through stories. And through... [ Through what her brother and a monster, someone she still refuses to call father, might tell her. But Leia doesn't add to that. Instead she latches on to the topic change of her parents. ]

We might not really have a choice, here in this place. [ There wasn't much of anywhere for any of them to go. The likelihood of going home anytime soon, the chances weren't that good. ] But my parents are... They've both passed. Along with all of my homeworld, Alderaan– I think– [ It was a quick cut in, looking away from Padmé to look for the easiest way to the bar. ] I think I need another drink...

[ Leia began to move away, turning in time to hide the hitch of breath, her empty hand going to the high collar of gold and gems where her throat was hidden to begin loosening it, feeling suddenly constricted. ]

I thought I knew them better than many, but perhaps -- they could ever only be understood by themselves. [ Anakin, even the steady Obi-Wan, foundering at the end.

But the next news is unexpectedly devastating, Padme's expression mirorring that openly for a moment. No. Not Bail, one of the last few good people left in the world she had known.

But that fades into something to be dealt with later at the expression on Leia's face, the way she turns away. Even if Padme cannot comprehend the depth of what it must mean to Leia to say even those few words about it, she can see that it was not easy. And understandably so -- an entire world gone. How?

The how is not important at this moment, with Leia in pain. Even if she hardly knows her she owes a loyalty from time past, and she discretely finishes her own drink before following Leia, her voice soft and low so others can't hear them. ]

I am sorry I brought up difficult memories. Would you find it acceptable if I drank to their memory with you?

[ It was upsetting for Leia, Breha's words echoing in her mind on her pulmonodes, her heart and lungs replaced by them in an accident that had very nearly ended her life, how she was never shy of them showing. `It reminds me that I lived. That I cannot be so easily stopped.'

Eventually something would have come along and taken her from this world, what with the risks they took, which both of her parents knew. Leia had hoped, and hoped hard, that it would have been old age and not a destructive beam completely annihilating an entire planet.

Leia moved to the bar and ordered two drinks. She didn't bother to ask the other woman what type of drink she would take. It would be something stiff, something that burned on the way down. ]

They would like that, I imagine. [ As Padmé was an old friend to them. Leia kept her voice low when she spoke, managed to pull back the emotions threatening to choke her. ] It's been some time since I've openly spoken of them.

[ She takes the drink in hand, and when she looks at Leia the grief on her face is layered, quieted by years of protocol but present. ]

Then we will drink to those we wish were still beside us. [ It is bitter, burns on the way down, and she almost welcomes that. It helps, a little. She raises a hand for another. ]

In my time the whole galaxy would mourn their loss.

I cannot feel the same grief you do, but I mourn them for those who should have. They were some of the best the galaxy had to offer.

They were committed to the cause they fought for, till the very end.

[ But this was not a topic to get into in such a place as this, even if the bar tender wasn't charging them much for drinks with their status as imPorts. Leia thanked her for the drink and felt the need to nurse it. ]

We can all hope to be as dedicated. [ For a time she sips her own drink slowly, lets Leia have her silence and reflection.

But the slow turn over of ideas in Padme's own mind won't stop, the possibilities and connections. And eventually she speaks again, slow and quiet. ]

Forgive me, but I -- I cannot help but wonder how long the gap in years is between our times. How long ago did the Jedi fall?

Roughly twenty-two years back. I was born very shortly after.

[ Something like a day after-ish. Leia didn't know much, only that she'd been brought home in Bail's arms and both he and Breha had loved her so very much, as if she'd truly belonged to them and had come from them.

The reminder then came up, of Luke, a brother she never knew she had. Of her biological father whom she still refused to believe existed. The latter darkens her expression, adds a little twist to her lips.

Now's a good time to swallow her drink whole. Maybe the burning liquid will burn that particular bit of knowledge away from her memory. ]

You were adopted?

[ It's not as casual and easy as she would like to be able to have it come out, her heart tightening in her chest as she traces features in Leia's face. She can't tell if she is imagining the resemblances she is finding, is making them up to support the growing belief in her heart. It's crazy to think.

But that doesn't stop her from thinking it. ]

[ Such a question, seemingly blurted out, Leia blinks. She tries not to choke on her drink, succeeds, and sets the glass off on the counter for the bartender to take away. ]

I was, yes. Though I'm not exactly sure what that has to do with the fall of the Jedi.

[ Padme pauses, and then signals for another drink. Leia is a woman grown, and even if Padme is right (she is, feels that tug of familiarity too acutely) she may not wish to be told the truth. Not even here in this foreign place.

Bail had seen fit never to tell Leia of Padme beyond that they had once been colleagues. Perhaps that was for the best. Perhaps there were good reasons. Perhaps the truth carried with it the possibility for harm. Emotionally, physically, any other amount of ways.

Her daughter. She turns to look instead at the drink she is being handed, takes an overly long swallow of it in an attempt to hide the tears that are trying to sting her eyes.

Bail was clever, he had known what he was doing. But surely, in this far off place, there could be no danger in it? Or is that wishful thinking on her part, desperation to grasp that which had been taken from her. When she finally speaks her voice is not entirely steady. ]

The Fall of the Jedi just told me how far in my future you are. I was surprised that you must have been born at a time I know Breha was not pregnant. [ It is a truth, of a kind. ] I know she always dreamed of a daughter. I'm glad you and they were brought together.

Her accident made it unable for them to pursue conceiving naturally. Adoption was what they both chose in the end and agreed was for the best.

[ Leia paused then as she took note of Padmé's wavering words. She hadn't taken any other drink offered to her, not yet. It sat untouched next to them. ]

I...spoke with...someone. [ She was trying to think of the right way to bring this up, hesitant. ] A man. He claimed he had been your bodyguard.

[ It was vague, perhaps Padmé had more than one at the time. ]

nonnnaaahhhhhhmommmmmmm

daughteeeeer

squishes cheeks in gleeeeeeee

i am playing padme immediately post rots atm ftr! but also SQUISHES BACK

I hate you and love you all at once SQUISHES HARDER

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